My Nonprofit Reviews

vnielson

My older sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 11 years old, I was 8 and our brother was 5. We heard about the Heart Connection through the Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines. In the summer of 1998 my sister went to camp for the first time in June. She came back with nothing but good things to say about it so my brother and I attended sibling week in July that same summer. From my very first day at camp I have made lifelong friends every time I go. These friends have always been my biggest support and most stable things in my life; especially after my sister passed away at age 15 in December 2000.

I must admit during my teenage years I got into quite a bit of trouble at home and the summer right before my senior year my parents told me I couldn't go to camp; that was the end of life as I knew it. I expressed to my parents how important it was that I went, camp was my therapy in life and without I would have gone crazy and ended up in a bad place. After talking with my parents they decided to let me go, they could tell over the previous 8 years of being a camper how much camp meant to me and my brother.

After I graduated high school I came back to camp as a volunteer, first on the kitchen staff (during the floods of 2008), then as a counselor, and last year on the Directors Team. Throughout the years I also have part-took in Stand Up to Cancer, the Annual Ski Trip, Walk to the Beat, and many other fundraisers. I know how important the Children's Cancer Connection is to me and how much it has helped me cope in life, so I try to give back to the organization as much as possible so other people just like me can get the love and support they need to make it through the battle against cancer.